SEC Enforcement Action Penalties: $1.5 Billion and Counting

As of Feb. 1, the SEC said, $1.53 billion in penalties have either been ordered or agreed to by 154 firms and individuals involving a number of enforcement actions since the nation’s financial crisis started around 2008.

The SEC has posted a comprehensive list of enforcement actions levied including penalty settlement information and year-to-date statistics on penalty amounts charged and the amounts returned to harmed investors.

The $3 billion Space Coast Credit Union in Melbourne, Fla., is among those financial institutions that have filed CDO lawsuits against banks such as JP Morgan Securities and Wells Fargo Securities, formerly known as Wachovia Capital Markets.

During the nation’s financial crisis, more than a dozen firms made misleading disclosures to investors about mortgage-related risks and exposures including again, Citigroup and JP Morgan Securities, as well as executives with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, BankAtlantic and Countrywide, the SEC said.

Firms such as Charles Schwab, OppenheimerFunds, TD Ameritrade and Morgan Keegan received penalties for concealing the extent of risky mortgage-related and other investments in mutual funds and other financial products, according to the SEC.

As of Feb 1, the SEC has tallied the following figures involving enforcement actions:

Number of Entities and Individuals Charged

154

Number of CEOs, CFOs, and Other Senior Corporate Officers Charged

65

Number of Individuals Who Have Received Officer and Director Bars, Industry Bars, or Commission Suspensions